River Rats

A crew of factioned specialists teams up to out-poker two wealthy bionic guests before running out of chances.

πŸ‘₯ 1–4 players⏱ approx. 30 minπŸͺ„ A round to warm up8+
🀝 Cooperative🧩 Solo modeβ˜… 5.5 Β· BGG #13,863

Who it's for

Cooperative game fans who enjoy hand-management and poker-adjacent mechanics with genuine teamwork under communication limits.

Not for you if…

You want to freely discuss every detail of your hand with teammates; the built-in communication limits are a deliberate part of the challenge here.

🦊

Vibe's take

Collaborative and tense, with limited communication forcing players to trust reads and faction synergy over open planning; every hand feels like a shared gamble.

About this game

River Rats is a cooperative hand-management game where a riverboat crew tries to out-poker their wealthy, bionic passengers. Each of the four crew factions brings its own special ability, and players combine faction powers with clever card play to craft winning poker hands and push both rival Rats into enough Debt to send them home before the crew collectively racks up five Debt of their own.

Cooperative poker hand-craftingFour unique crew factionsLimited communication between players
By the numbers

Players

Best at 4 playersWorks with 2–4

Duration

10–30 min

Ages 8+

Complexity

1.9 / 5 β€” Light

BGG Rating

5.5/10

Rank #13,863

140 ratings

Published

2025